Simon Kernick - The Last 10 Seconds

‘He managed to hit you twice.’

‘He just got lucky,’ he said, giving her a weary smile. ‘Anyway, if you hadn’t turned up, I’d have bled to death, so I guess we’re quits. Maybe we should share the bottle.’

Tina had deliberately chosen Scotch because she disliked it. ‘No, you keep it for when you’re feeling better.’

‘Fair enough,’ he said, ‘but at least tell me how you ended up in that building at eight o’clock on a Saturday morning. I’ve been answering a lot of questions these past few days, but no one’s been giving me any information.’

‘It’s a long story.’

‘Long stories are what keep me going in this place.’

So she told him everything.

‘Jesus,’ he said when she’d finished. ‘After all you did, and they end up suspending you?’

‘I didn’t follow the rules, and they don’t like that these days.’

He laughed. ‘I know the feeling. And if it’s any consolation, I’ve been suspended as well. But at the moment I’m just thankful I haven’t been charged with anything.’

‘I think there’d have been a public outcry if they’d charged you with anything. You’ve read the papers. You must have seen the coverage you’ve been getting. The Sun ’s even nicknamed you Robocop.’

Not surprisingly, there’d been a media frenzy over the kidnapping of Andrew Kent and the revelations surrounding Anthony Gore and his connection to it, and the story had rarely been off the front pages. With the stock of mainstream politicians at one of its lowest ebbs in history thanks to the ongoing expenses scandal, the allegations of murder weren’t considered as unbelievable as they might otherwise have been. In fact, they were treated as still more evidence of the corrupt nature of the ruling classes, who it now seemed were capable of almost anything.

Most people — if you believed the tabloid headlines, at least — thought that both Andrew Kent and Anthony Gore had got what they deserved, and although the full extent of Gore’s involvement wasn’t yet public knowledge, there was a groundswell of support for Sean Egan. In tabloid eyes, he was the brave undercover cop, eager to avenge the long-ago murder of his brother, whose only crime was getting in too deep, but who’d redeemed himself by ridding the world of a sadistic killer.

Nobody, therefore, wanted to be the person to charge him with anything, even though the CPS could probably have created a file against him longer than the Bible.

‘Did they ever find the missing footage that Kent took of Gore killing Roisín O’Neill?’ he asked.

Tina shook her head. ‘It sounds like Kent only kept the one copy, and that was the one that was destroyed.’

‘And you think Tommy killed her father as well?’

‘He must have done. The car he was using, the one that led me to him and you, was filmed in Roisín’s father’s cul-de-sac on the night he died. It’s too much of a coincidence for it not to be related.’

‘But why kill him? Particularly then.’

It was a question that Tina had been thinking about a lot. ‘Gore must have been concerned that Roisín had told her father about their relationship. That wasn’t a problem while her murder was being treated as one of the Night Creeper’s. But when Kent was arrested in possession of information that implicated Gore in her murder, they must have decided it was best to get her father out of the way.’ She shrugged. ‘I think it was just a case of damage limitation.’

Egan sighed. ‘Jesus. He didn’t care who he killed, did he? But I still don’t understand who was organizing all this. Tommy said he was working for someone called Alpha.’

‘We think he was referring to Paul Wise, a gangster and thug based out of Northern Cyprus. He initiated everything on behalf of Anthony Gore — not that he got anywhere near the action himself. He used Tommy and Wolfe’s gang for that.’

A number of newspapers had mentioned the possibility of a shadowy businessman linked to Anthony Gore who may have helped him in his cover-up, but no one had dared accuse Wise by name, because the evidence against him was still so scant. Tina knew he’d be feeling the heat of his involvement, now that things had blown up so spectacularly, but it wasn’t enough for her. She still wanted justice.

Egan frowned. ‘And what’s going to happen to him? Is he going to get off scot-free?’

‘No,’ said Tina firmly. ‘Paul Wise’s days are numbered, and I’ve got the evidence that’s going to make sure of that. I taped our interview with Anthony Gore, the one in which he confesses his role in the whole thing, and it implicates Wise completely.’

‘I didn’t read anything about that in the papers.’

‘The papers don’t know about it. Yet. Neither do any of my colleagues. I wanted to make sure it didn’t conveniently disappear. Paul Wise has got contacts everywhere, and if anyone’s capable of getting rid of evidence, he is.’

‘Would it be admissible in court, with Anthony Gore dead?’

Tina shrugged. ‘I don’t know, but I’ve got a meeting with a journalist from the Guardian tomorrow — someone I’ve checked out, who’s squeaky clean — and I’m going to give him the tape on the proviso he publishes it. If that happens, I think the CPS, the police, the government, all of them, will have no choice but to push to get Wise back from Cyprus to face charges.’

‘Won’t he sue?’

‘On what grounds? It’s a taped confession from a government minister. He could sue Gore’s estate, I suppose, but I can’t see that he’ll take on the paper. My journalist source doesn’t seem too worried about it anyway.’

Egan gave her an admiring look. ‘Jesus, you don’t mess around, do you? I’m glad I’m not on the wrong side of you.’

‘Paul Wise has done me a lot of harm over the years. I just hope I get a chance to tell him face to face about my part in his downfall.’

‘I get the feeling you will.’

‘We’ll see,’ she said, and stood up. ‘I’d better get going. Enjoy the booze and the choccies.’

There was an awkward moment when Tina wasn’t sure whether she should shake his hand, peck his cheek, or simply keep a reserved distance. She finally settled for the peck on the cheek, but wasn’t entirely surprised when one of his arms encircled her waist.

‘Will I see you again, Tina Boyd?’ he whispered in her ear.

Egan was a good-looking guy, the kind it would be far too easy to fall for. And perhaps she would have done, too, but her attention was still focused on another man.

‘You never know,’ she answered, and gently moved away.

When she was back outside the hospital, she lit a cigarette and walked down Gower Street in the direction of Tottenham Court Road. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. In truth, she didn’t know if what she was about to do with Gore’s confession tape would finally bring Wise down, and releasing it to the media when she’d previously denied knowledge of its existence would certainly scupper any chances of her resuming her career, but even so, she was smiling as she went down the steps into Tottenham Court Road tube station.

Because she knew that she was finally becoming a real thorn in Wise’s side.

It was evening and I was lying in my hospital bed feeling sick, having eaten all the chocolates Tina Boyd brought me, and wondering if she’d say yes if I asked her out for a date, when there was a knock on the door. A second later, the bald, cadaverous figure of Captain Bob appeared. He was dressed in a V-neck angora sweater and sensible slacks, as if he’d just come back from a game of golf, which he probably had.

‘My God, you look different,’ he said, approaching the bed and putting out a bony hand, which I shook reluctantly. ‘What have you done to your hair?’